determine
English
Alternative forms
- determin (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English determinen, from Old French determiner, French déterminer, from Latin determinare (“to bound, limit, prescribe, fix, determine”), from de + terminare (“to limit”), from terminus (“bound, limit, end”).
Pronunciation
Verb
determine (third-person singular simple present determines, present participle determining, simple past and past participle determined)
- To set the boundaries or limits of.
- 1611, Bible, KJV edition, Acts 17:26:
- [God] hath determined the times before appointed.
- 1844, Francis Bacon, The Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England:
- The knowledge of men hitherto hath been determined by the view or sight.
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- To ascertain definitely; to figure out, find out, or conclude by analyzing, calculating, or investigating.
- 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.
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- To fix the form or character of; to shape; to prescribe imperatively; to regulate; to settle.
- 1741 July 8, Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God:
- The character of the soul is determined by the character of its God.
- 1913, W. Black, 1913 Webster's Dictionary:
- something divinely beautiful […] that at some time or other might influence or even determine her course of life
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- To fix the course of; to impel and direct; with a remoter object preceded by to.
- The news of his father's illness determined him to depart immediately.
- To bring to a conclusion, as a question or controversy; to settle authoritative or judicial sentence; to decide.
- The court has determined the cause.
- To resolve on; to have a fixed intention of; also, to cause to come to a conclusion or decision; to lead.
- I determined to go home at once.
- (logic) To define or limit by adding a differentia.
- (obsolete) To bring to an end; to finish.
- c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2, Act 4, Scene 5:
- Now, where is he that will not stay so long / Till his friend sickness hath determined me?
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Derived terms
Translations
to set the limits of
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to ascertain definitely
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Further reading
- determine in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- determine in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- determine at OneLook Dictionary Search
- "determine" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 98.
Galician
Verb
determine
- first-person singular present subjunctive of determinar
- third-person singular present subjunctive of determinar
Ladin
Verb
determine
- first-person singular present indicative of determiner
- first-person singular present subjunctive of determiner
- third-person singular present subjunctive of determiner
- third-person plural present subjunctive of determiner
Portuguese
Verb
determine
- First-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of determinar
- Third-person singular (ele, ela, also used with tu and você?) present subjunctive of determinar
- Third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of determinar
- Third-person singular (você) negative imperative of determinar
Spanish
Verb
determine
- Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of determinar.
- First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of determinar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of determinar.
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of determinar.
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